Delta Passenger Fights For Seat In Weight Dispute

ATLANTA,None — A woman is upset with Delta Airlines over the way the carrier handled a seat dispute involving an overweight passenger.

Amanda Parker was traveling back to Atlanta when she boarded a Delta flight from Oakland, Calif. on Aug. 5.

"I get to the seat and there's this guy sitting in both my seat and his. It's not like it was a matter of I could have fit in the seat. There was no way I was getting in the seat," Parker told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri.

She said she confronted the other passenger about taking up half of her seat, but he didn’t budge.

"He goes, ‘You might want to find somewhere else to sit,’" Parker said.

Have a news tip? E-mail Amy.Viteri@wsbtv.com

According to Parker, the flight was full and when she asked a flight attendant where she could sit, a Delta employee asked if she would be willing to take a later flight leaving from San Francisco. Parker was traveling with her boyfriend and trying to get back on time for an appointment, so she refused.

"Then, I was put on the spot in front of the entire plane, to have to sit there and fight for my seat on the plane that I paid for," Parker said.

Eventually, another passenger agreed to give up his seat and take a later flight.

Delta policy offers passengers the option to purchase two seats if they need extra room, but it is not a requirement.

“We offer seat belt extensions on all of our flights. Outside of this, if the passenger seated next to a passenger of size raises the issue to a flight attendant at departure time and the flight is not full, the passenger will be moved to another available seat if available. If the flight is full, we work with both passengers to reaccomodate one of them on a later flight based on availability," a Delta representative said in a statement.

Parker said no one attempted to work with the man taking up part of her seat. The airline said it handles things on a case by case basis.

WSBTV